Mary Carol Sheffield, a county coordinator for UGA Cooperative Extension, recently spoke with Southern Living about fertilizing trees.
Sheffield advises establishing a healthy root system for newly planted saplings.
“When you plant a tree, it’s stressful on the plant. It’s been taken out of the container where it was cared for and put into the ground into the elements,” Sheffield said. “The first thing you want the tree to do is to put down a healthy root system.”
For those who want to give a new tree a boost, wait until a year after planting.
“In most places, nitrogen is not readily available in the soil, so it doesn’t hurt to provide some to your small tree,” Sheffield said.
Mature trees typically don’t need fertilizer.
“When we fertilize our lawns, the tree also is probably getting some fertilizer,” Sheffield said.
If a mature tree is struggling, a soil test is recommended to determine if essential elements are missing.
“If a tree looks stressed and the leaves are yellowing or you see signs of pests, fertilizer isn’t going to fix it,” Sheffield said. “Identify what’s going on first because, when a tree is trying to recover from something, it may not make sense to give it fertilizer to push leaf growth.